Margaret Beryl Jones, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (born 22 May 1955)Dod's Parliamentary Companion - Google Books
/ref> is a British Labour Peer and previously a

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

official and Labour

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. She was Chair of the Labour Party from 2000 to 2001. She has served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation and as a

Baroness in Waiting Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom. In the official Court Circular they are styled "Lord in Waiting" or "Baroness in Waiting" (without ...

since July 2024.

Early life

Jones was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

to Bill and Audrey Jones, and was educated at

Whitchurch High School Whitchurch High School () is a large, co-educational, comprehensive secondary school in the suburb of Whitchurch in Cardiff, Wales. Organisation and structure The school is currently the largest in Wales (according to the school's last Esty ...

. She then studied at the

University of Sussex The University of Sussex is a public university, public research university, research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the ...

, gaining a BA in

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. She now lives in

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

Non-political positions

Jones was Director of Policy and Public Affairs of the trade union

UNISON Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

until 2006. In 1979 she became a regional official of

National Union of Public Employees The National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) was a British trade union which existed between 1908 and 1993. It represented public sector workers in local government, the Health Service, universities, and water authorities. History The union w ...

(NUPE), which merged into UNISON. She has a background as a housing campaigner and environmentalist as well as fighting low pay and discrimination at work. She was previously a trustee of

Shelter A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...

and the

Waste & Resources Action Programme WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a British registered charity. It works with businesses, individuals and communities to achieve a circular economy, by helping them reduce waste, develop sustainable products and use resources in an e ...

as well as being on the board of the Circle 33 Housing Trust. She has been a Development Board member of

ClientEarth ClientEarth is an environmental law charity, with offices in London, Brussels, Warsaw, Berlin, Beijing, Madrid and Los Angeles. It was founded in 2008 by James Thornton and the organisation's CEO is Laura Clarke. As lawyers and environmental expe ...

, board member of Ombudsman Services, Chair of Rothamsted Enterprises, and President of Friends of the South Downs. In 2020, Lady Jones was appointed as a member of the

South Downs National Park Authority The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of in southern England, stretches for from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east, through the counties of Hamp ...

Political career

Labour Party positions

Jones was a member of the Labour Party's National Executive Committee (NEC) within the trade union section from 1993 to 2005. She was elected Chair of the Labour Party in 2000, the year the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

controversially appointed

Charles Clarke Charles Rodway Clarke (born 21 September 1950) is a British Labour Party politician who held various Cabinet positions under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2001 to 2006, lastly as Home Secretary from December 2004 to May 2006. Clarke was th ...

to be the similarly named Party Chairman. She was co-convener, along with Tony Blair, of the NEC

Joint Policy Committee The Joint Policy Committee of the British Labour Party was part of the policy-making system of the party, set up by leader Tony Blair in 1997 as part of the Partnership in Power process. It has strategic oversight of policy development by oversee ...

for much of her time on the NEC.

Unsuccessful parliamentary candidate

Jones was the Labour Party parliamentary candidate for the constituency of

Blaenau Gwent Blaenau Gwent (; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders the Local government in Wales, unitary authority areas of Monmouthshire and Torfaen to the east, Caerphilly County Borough ...

at the 2005 general election, the safest Labour seat in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and fifth safest in the UK. She was selected from a women-only shortlist which was controversially imposed upon the local party; subsequently eight of twelve members of the local executive resigned in protest. The retiring MP

Llew Smith Llewellyn Thomas Smith (16 April 1944 – 26 May 2021) was a British Labour Party politician. Early life and education According to Smith, his father was born in England and moved to Wales as a child. He began working at the local colliery ( Ne ...

also criticised the selection method.

Peter Law Peter John Law (1 April 1948 – 25 April 2006) was a Welsh politician. For most of his career Law sat as a Labour councillor and subsequently Labour Co-operative Assembly member (AM) for Blaenau Gwent. Latterly he sat as an independent memb ...

, the Labour Welsh Assembly Member for the constituency, resigned from the party and stood against her as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. Prior to the announcement of Law's rumoured candidacy, Jones stated that Law would be "very foolish" to stand against her. She argued "Blaenau Gwent is solidly Labour and I don't think people will vote for anyone else." Law won the seat with a majority of 9,121 votes, creating one of the media highlights of the election. The ''

Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was foun ...

'' described Jones' defeat as "one of the most spectacular general election results of modern times".

House of Lords

Following her election defeat, Jones was nominated for a

life peerage In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

in 2005 by the Labour Party, according to a list leaked to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

''. This leaked list eventually led to the

Cash for Peerages The Cash-for-Honours scandal (also known as Cash for Peerages, Loans for Lordships, Loans for Honours or Loans for Peerages) was a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations an ...

scandal in which Jones was not implicated. On 10 April 2006, her nomination for a peerage was officially announced, and she was gazetted as Baroness Jones of Whitchurch, ''of Whitchurch in the County of

South Glamorgan South Glamorgan () is a preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Wales. It was originally formed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as a county council area. It consisted of the county borough of Cardiff along with the south ...

'' on 5 June 2006. Jones' peerage was widely criticised, with Law stating "That is the way

New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...

works. It's a poor example of patronage and power." Labour MP Paul Flynn was also critical, he argued: "This is standing democracy on its head. The House of Lords shouldn't be used to reward a candidate who has been emphatically rejected by the electorate." On 16 November 2006, she made her

maiden speech A maiden speech is the first speech given by a newly elected or appointed member of a legislature or parliament. Traditions surrounding maiden speeches vary from country to country. In many Westminster system governments, there is a convention th ...

in the House of Lords during a debate on the Queen's Speech. In June 2010 Jones joined Labour's Shadow Ministerial Team, as Labour's House of Lords Spokesperson on Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport. She was then promoted to the Shadow Spokesperson for Education and served from 2011 to 2015. From 2015, she undertook the role of Labour's Shadow Spokesperson for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and served until 2022, before serving as Shadow Spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology from 2023 to 2024. In July 2024, she was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Legislation and as a

References

External links

Labour Party profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Maggie, Baroness Jones Of Whitchurch 1955 births Living people Welsh trade unionists Labour Party (UK) officials Jones of Whitchurch Life peeresses created by Elizabeth II Life peers created by Elizabeth II Alumni of the University of Sussex People educated at Whitchurch Grammar School, Cardiff Chairs of the Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) Baronesses- and Lords-in-Waiting British women trade unionists Politicians from Cardiff